Looking on the bright side, she reached her first slam QF without ever coming close to playing like we all know she can play. She has proven that she by no means lacks that mythological quality that players supposedly need to get into the latter stages of a slam.

With that monkey off her back and with a new coach, she can now focus on getting her mojo back.

It's still early in the season, she has time to get her shit together and start working with her new coach.

agree. she can't be stuck in the back. When you hit a deep shot in the corner, your instinct should be to step inside the court and take the next ball early. Not wait in the back, and give your opponent all the time to get back in position... A good coach should fix that first.

Hope to see a better Halep in Doha (as it would be indicated to withdraw from Paris - she can't gain points for now unless she reaches the final here anyway) . Hope Wim Fissette will show his value too.

Oh well, very disappointing obviously. However, if she can make a slam QF playing at 60-70% of her powers, imagine what Wim Fissette might be able to get out of her during the rest of the year. Be proud of what you have achieved this week Simona!

We are all proud. She had a good draw. And took advantage of it.
She is not ready for the big show with that game she's been playing all tournament long. I kept telling you guys. So I am not surprised she lost so badly. It was coming.
New coach is good news for us.

If nothing else, this match should explode the myth that Simona is a great defensive player. Her defensive game is adequate at best. Which means that she´s in deep shit when her natural attacking game is not firing. She is a spectator in this match. Domi is playing quite well, but not spectacularly so.

It rather explodes the myth of her being a mental giant of some sort. The only decent points she played today where after longer rallies where she was able to hit the winner after coming back from a defensive position. She basically didn't win a single point when she was the first one to go for the winner in a rally.

Simona lost this match in the locker room and it's likely that she would have lost against a scarecrow today. No fire, never looked into the match, folded like a tent after losing the first set and simply gave up in that very last game. Absolutely pathetic.

But then again, yes, Cibulkova played very well, although Simona made it easy for her. She overpowered her from the baseline and overwhelmed her mentally, intimidated her with a couple of 'Pomes'. Too easy.

Anyway, reaching a QF despite playing that poorly, only champions can do that and she will learn from this experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serve2Win

Has anyone seen Halep move inside the court to follow a deep shot?
I am watching ESPN360. And the commentators are saying what I have been saying here.
Halep is never looking to move forwards. Great observation.
Cibulkova has all the time in the world to place her shots. Cibulkova is playing from inside the court.
Halep stuck in the back.
Maybe she'll change her game and win. I would be very surprised. Halep is playing junior tennis right now.
You can't stand by the wall, in the back, and never come inside the court to put pressure on your opponent.

You got to play from the baseline and move forwards.
Hope the new coach watches this tape and sees what I have been talking about.
You are now top-10. You've got to play top-10 tennis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Djezonfly

Yep, she can thank her seeding for reaching that stage of the tournament. She's clearly far away from the level of play she displayed last year.

That said it's still a slam QF and she lost against a player who played almost flawlessly. It's still early in the season, she has time to get her shit together and start working with her new coach.

Both comments are absolutely quoted for truth here.

Only in the last set against Jankovic, Simona looked good, the rest was messy and her draw was a joke.

She is close to hiring an excellent coach who should really help her to develop her baseline game. She has never been an early starter, nor in matches in especially not into seasons. She will improve and she has to improve, but as you guys said, having a higher seeding basically makes it impossible for you to fall down the Rankings if you don't get dramatically injured which makes it easier for her.

When Simona is in a bad form she is playing passively. That's for sure -)

There was nothing wrong with her form. The game plan was not good. period. Let's hope she and her new coach watch the tape against Lepchenko, and this tape. That's should be enough to build a winning game.

As I said, Bouchard was playing this kind of "staying far back" game. A coached changed it and we see the results.
Halep got lots of skills.. So it won't be long before we see her playing from inside the court.

It rather explodes the myth of her being a mental giant of some sort ...

I think it's a bit ridiculous to write her mental strength off like that after one bad loss. We all know how many matches she rescues from one set down, how she fights her way back to win sets from 0-3 down etc. Mentally, she is one of the strongest out there at fighting back. Just not today. Shit happens.

I think it's a bit ridiculous to write her mental strength off like that after one game. We all know how many matches she rescues from one set down, how she fights her way back to win sets from 0-3 down etc. Mentally, she is one of the strongest out there at fighting back. Just not today. Shit happens.

Yeah, I may be one of the perpetuators of the "mental giant" myth of Simona. I've seen her think her way through difficulties she's having in a match, and find her prod and probe an opponent's weaknesses, just as I'm watching Aga have her way with Vika as I write this. And which is why I'm so distraught about her performance in the second set today. Just did not see the fight today; and neither did a GS champion (Martina). That's mental toughness she lacked. Again, until somebody tells me different, I'm going to assume it was the coach-search that distracted her.

I think it's a bit ridiculous to write her mental strength off like that after one bad loss. We all know how many matches she rescues from one set down, how she fights her way back to win sets from 0-3 down etc. Mentally, she is one of the strongest out there at fighting back. Just not today. Shit happens.

Although this was Simona's deepest run into a grand slam I'm still extremely disappointed in her performance today. I'm really big on taking advantage of your opportunities especially when the draw begins to play out in your favor (for example, look at Bartoli's draw from last year's Wimbledon).

I was worried the other day when Simona said making the quarterfinal was her "dream." This performance makes you wonder if she was merely satisfied with how far she advanced. Reminds me of the loss to Pennetta at the US Open.